Sneaker Wars

Sneaker Wars
By Barbara Smit
(Ecco, 384 pages, $26.95)

I have not yet been able to get my hands on this book (the official release date is Tuesday), but the Wall Street Journal published a review and an excerpt. The book details the first two international kingpins in shoes, Adidas and Puma, the ascendancy of Nike, and the bareknuckle fights between them.

A similar upcoming book is Geoff Hollister's "Out of Nowhere: The Inside Story of How Nike Marketed the Culture of Running", to be released in just a few weeks. Hollister was Nike's third employee, after founder/CEO Phil Knight and superguru Bill Bowerman.